If you missed the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket livestream, then you’d be glad to hear that I have finally added the transcripts of all three Diablo III: Reaper of Souls panels held at BlizzCon 2013. Please, spread the word and share the link with your friends, communities and social networks. Or Reddit.

Kindreagan: Hey, BlizzCon! I’m Brian Kindreagan and I’m the lead writer on Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. And I’m gonna ask everyone on our panel to introduce themselves before we get to the questions. So let’s start with Leonard.

Boyarski: I’m Leonard Boyarski, and I’m senior world designer.

Chu: Hey, I’m Michael Chu and I’m game designer and writer. And you can probably blame me for some characters like the Monk, Witch Doctor Covetous Shen and Zoltun Kulle.

Watrous: Hi, I’m Valerie Watrous and I’m a writer on Diablo. I work mostly on dialogue and characterization.

Parker: Hello, I’m Justin Parker. I’m the historian or one of the historians. We mostly work with the world that’s gone before and trying to keep continuity as best we can.

Kindreagan: So, Justin is the surprise last minute addition to our panel. So that he can help with the some of the really deep Diablo history if we get into that. So, OK, let’s open it right up for some questions. If you have any questions, call me up.

I brought the whole gang with me today, because there is a lot of you guys out there. I mean I have lot of really cool things for your guys today. So what are we covering today? This is the gameplay panel.

So yesterday we talked a lot about some of the big new features that you are gonna expect with Reaper of Soul’s adventure mode . But today we are doing a deep dive on the few of the very core things that are at the heart of Diablo.

And those start with epic heroes. So the guys here are gonna talk to you guys about “The Crusader”. Our knight in battlestar armor. What was our process behind, how we come with his skills, his look and how we are fulfilling that fantasy. But “The Crusader” may be the star of Reaper Souls but all of the five classes are getting brand new skills. And why here we are gonna talk to you guys about what you are gonna expect.

Mosqueira: Are you guys ready to face Death? Awesome isn’t that cinematic just awesome, we’re really excited to be here, umm my name is Josh Mosqueira, I’m the game director, and it’s a great honor to be here with you guys today, we’re going to show you some of the cool new things we have in store for you guys for the ”Reapers of Souls” .

We got a great panel for you guys today, but before we get in to meat and potatoes of Reapers of Souls, I want to take a few moments to talk to you guys about what Reapers of Souls means to us.

What of our high level goals we had when we started the project; and for us it all starts with epic heroes, where you are the Barbarian or Demon Hunter or the Monk or the brand new Crusader, You’re a knight in a battlestar armor, you guys are playing heroes which are bigger than life and you are facing the forces of darkness.

In “Reaper Souls”, we’re celebrating the dark gothic hearts. It is at the root of Diablo, and we have a sleuth of new monsters for you guys to kill and loot; and Joe and Julian, up here, are gonna talk to you about how our monsters are designed to live to die, and we’re not only introducing new monsters we’re also introducing brand new villain to the world of Diablo in the form of Malthael — the angel of death, and Tim and Zaven are going to talk to you guys about Pandemonium — the final battleground where you guys are going to be confronting Malthael, and trying to stop death; but we’re not just stopping there, one of the most important goals for us is we wanna make sure that there was, an end game for everyone.

PlayStation®4 players can now experience the full adventure of Blizzard’s epic action RPG, Diablo® III, and the upcoming expansion, Reaper of Souls™ . . . all from the comfort of their couch in Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition! Take on the role of one of six powerful character classes— Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Witch Doctor, Wizard, or the all-new Crusader—and embark on a dark journey through Acts I-V to save the world of Sanctuary from ancient and sinister forces. With the new DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller and a custom-designed console interface, players will be outfitted with touch pad functionality and new social features as they engage in pulse-pounding combat with hordes of monsters and acquire items of incredible power.

Blizzard Entertainment provided the press a brief gameplay video featuring the monk battling it out against the Siegebreaker, Halls of Agony, the High Heavens, Southern Highlands, and other areas of Sanctuary.

The Siegebreaker part shows how some of the new features work. Loads of demons rush at players right in the middle of the Siegebreaker event, upping the difficulty a few notches.

New Game Mode: Adventure — Explore the world of Sanctuary and complete Bounties and Random Dungeons to earn awesome loot! You can adjust difficulty.

The video shows a new Waypoint map that allows you to see all of Act I waypoints as a map. Some of the locations, for example, Caverns of Araneae or Halls of Agony Level 3 will display a blue question mark which denotes a Bounty quest which lets you earn bonus reward which includes Experience (XP) and Gold.

The example reward shown was 340,000 Experience and 136,000 Gold.

A Nephalem Obelisk may be found next to Cain’s House. It allows the entry to Nephalem Rift events.

The video below also shows Clan Channel Information, News, Roster and Settings UI. Each Clan member can be given a rank or privilege setting.

The new game systems: The Mystic Enchanting UI and Transmogrification and the updated Paragon System.

Reaper of Souls™ is the upcoming expansion to Blizzard Entertainment’s epic action RPG Diablo® III—a dark and terrifying new chapter in the ongoing conflict over the mortal realm of Sanctuary.

What is the story of Reaper of Souls?
Following the defeat of the Prime Evil by the Nephalem in Diablo III, the mortal realm of Sanctuary should have entered an age of hope and prosperity. Instead, this event has drawn out a shadowy being of immense power, one more sinister than any demon.

Malthael, the fallen Archangel of Wisdom, vanished long ago. In Reaper of Souls, he returns as the Angel of Death and seizes the Black Soulstone, the ancient artifact containing the essence of the Prime Evil. It is now up to the Nephalem to track down Malthael and thwart his plans, a journey that will take them through the legendary city of Westmarch, across the fetid swamps of the Blood Marsh, and into the ancient halls of the Pandemonium Fortress.

The defeat of Diablo, Lord of Terror, should have given rise to an age of hope. Instead, it has drawn out a shadowy being of immense power whose malevolent purpose has yet to be revealed. Reaper of Souls™, the upcoming expansion to Blizzard Entertainment’s epic action RPG Diablo® III, opens a dark and terrifying new chapter in the ongoing conflict over the mortal realm of Sanctuary.

Malthael, the fallen Archangel of Wisdom, vanished long ago. In Reaper of Souls, he returns as the Angel of Death and seizes the Black Soulstone, which contains the essence of the Prime Evil. Should this dark power be unleashed upon the world, the results would be catastrophic.

Fortunately, a new hero is ready to join the cause and bring Malthael to justice—the Crusader. Clad in massive armor and bearing an impenetrable shield, this new playable class charges into battle wielding a range of cruel and punishing weapons and employing powerful battle magic to strengthen allies and weaken foes. A natural walking tank, the Crusader adds might and versatility to any party of adventurers.